Flourishing programs in 80+ disciplines. A vibrant Christian mission. $50 million
in new campus construction. A 2014 Division III national championship. 95% placement
within 6 months of graduation. There’s never been a better time to consider Hope College.

As a member of the MIAA and NCAA Division III associations, Hope College sponsors
22 varsity sports for men and women. The college is home to the 2014 NCAA Division
III National Championship women’s volleyball team.

Facilities and Classrooms

VanderWerf Hall

VanderWerf is home to an extensive network of laboratories, computer development labs
and a Pelletron particle accelerator, among many other technologies, used by computer
science, physics, mathematics and engineering students. Recently completed in 2013,
the Haworth Engineering Center promotes active faculty-student collaboration on research
programs and design projects. Learn more.

Physics involves the curious examination of the world around us to understand why
the universe works the way it does. That means we spend a lot of time in our labs
and research facilities, from our general labs where you’ll learn analytical methods
to one of our specialty labs, such as our our particle accelerator lab.

General Physics Lab

Here, you’ll start at the beginning. Students investigate mechanics, heat, electric
circuits, quantum spectroscopy and optics. While performing experiments, you will
learn analytical methods and use software that physicists employ in their research.

Advanced Lab

Our advanced lab is basically a training ground for research scientists. You'll perform
a variety of experiments ranging from the classics, such as Cavendish's famous gravitation
experiment, to experiments associated with current research, such as scanning electron
microscopy and plasma spectroscopy.

Accelerator Lab

We use a particle accelerator in our ion beam analysis lab to explore not only the
elemental composition of objects, but the location of these elements on the surface
and near the surface of the object. The techniques developed in this facility are
used by faculty and student researchers in biology, chemistry, geology and physics
departments, and by several local industries.

Materials Characterization Lab

The Materials Characterization lab houses three different instruments used by multiple
research groups to study material surfaces and structures. The scanning electron microscope
and atomic force microscope are used to image surfaces at micrometer and nanometer
scales.

Microwave Lab

Here, you’re able to take part in original research in condensed matter physics, plasma
physics and engineering physics. In recent years, students have studied stratospheric
gas processes that will help deepen understanding of atomic and molecular interactions
in the earth’s atmosphere. They worked on the applicability of superconductivity to
microwave electronics and electrically engineered photonic crystals. Students have
collaborated across campus, with chemistry in plasma research and with the ion beam
accelerator lab in superconductivity research.

Nuclear Group Lab

Students working in the nuclear group lab engage in the development and construction
of detectors for use in nuclear science experiments at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University. They also analyze data from experiments carried
out at the NSCL, determining properties of previously unstudied nuclei that are currently
"off the chart" — the chart of nuclides, that is.

Observatory

Hope College is home to the Harry F. Frissel observatory, which houses a 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain
telescope equipped with an imaging CCD camera. The telescope/imaging system is used
primarily as a teaching tool and is linked to a computer in the classroom where it
can be controlled remotely and real-time images can be displayed. In addition, we
have two 8-inch and one 10-inch portable Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes and a number
of binoculars that are used for viewing out in the field as part of our Night Sky
course.

Surface Lab

The surface lab is used to understand and control the fabrication of metallic thin
films and nanostructures. Applications for the materials developed in the lab range
from earth-abundant batteries to catalysts. Scanning probe microscopes and electrochemistry
techniques are used to explore the various facets of this research that spans the
fields of physics, chemistry and materials science. Undergraduate researchers also
collaborate with the ion beam analysis group to characterize the composition of the
samples developed in the surface lab.